Introduction

5 years ago, who would have imagined AI getting this far? Self-driving cars are no longer a figment of our imagination, they are here! As Google Duplex showed recently, machines can now book appointments for us, all the while sounding completely like a human! Hmm…hmm!

Drones have the ability to deliver orders to our doorstep and robots are taking over manufacturing and shipping functions.

The world is well and truly being transformed by the far reaching potential and applications of Artificial Intelligence. From Boston Dynamic’s robots to Amazon’s AI solutions, machines are getting smarter, more intuitive and capable of multi-tasking without dropping their efficiency levels.

In this article, we will take a look at a list of videos that show the level of intelligence, today’s machines are capable of. Keep an open mind because some of these videos are truly incredible.

Strap in – this is going to be awesome!

Boston Dynamic’s Helping Robot

This video from Boston Dynamics went viral a few weeks ago. Here we see a robot dog unsure how to get past the door obstacle in front of it. Cue the entry of Boston Dynamic’s helping robot. It walks in, opens the door, and steps aside to let the other robot inside. Amazing!

And recently, the robot’s robustness was tested. In the below video, the determination of the robot dog to complete it’s task is simply stunning.

Amazon’s Warehouse Robots

Have you always wondered how Amazon stocks it’s inventories and readies your orders? Wonder no longer. In this video, take a look at how Amazon uses AI robots to pick out the orders and make the e-commerce giant even more ruthlessly efficient.

An Autonomous Bike Driving Robot

Valentino Rossi is a multiple time MotoGP champion. In this video, a robot called Motobot attempted to beat Rossi’s lap time. It didn’t succeed but the below video is extremely impressive nonetheless.

The most remarkable part about the Motobot is that the bike it used is completely unmodified. The entire lap was driven by the robot itself using it’s six actuators that are able to accelerate and maneuver the bike using all sorts of data points.

Google’s DeepMind AI Taught itself How to Walk, Run, Jump..

DeepMind has developed an AI that taught itself all the things about motion – walking, running, jumping and climbing..without any prior guidance! The below video is crazy and amazing in equal measure.

An Interview with Sophia, the Robot

Sophia is the most recognizable humanoid robot out there but the way her intelligence has increased since her creation has been an eye-opening experience. In this video, Sophia is interviewed by a Saudi Arabian channel and her responses are intelligent and well crafted sentences.

What’s new, Atlas?

Another Boston Dynamics entry in this list. This robot can perform human movements..probably a tad bit better than actual humans! It understands obstacles and can jump on or over them with ease.

Flippy, the Burger Cook

Using thermal vision, 3D and computer vision, and machine learning algorithms, Flippy was created by Miso Robotics and has been trained on how to cook and handle the burgers. The deep learning model was built using data about kitchen equipment, the temperatures the grill can heat up to and what the ideal temperature is for cooking the burgers. When the kitchen works put the patties on the grill, Flippy is able to detect where they are. We covered this AI here.

Google Duplex

How could we leave Google Duplex out of this list? Launched yesterday at the Google IO conference, this AI system makes machines sound incredible human-like. Listen to the the two conversations in the below video to see what I’m talking about. It will blow your mind. To understand the technology behind this AI, read our article here.

Amazon Go

Not quite a robot, but this AI technology is changing the retail and shopping landscape. It is a cashier-less store where customers scan their app at the front of the store, walk in, pick up what they want, and walk out. They get charged once they have left the store. No more wasting time in check-out lines! It’s a concept that’s been coming for some years and has finally been launched this year. You can read more about it here.

End Notes

AI is becoming more and more human like – basically the vision that was set out when this term was coined. It’s a little scary how good machines are getting but it’s exciting in equal measure. The potential of helping mankind is limitless and with the amount of research going on at the big tech giants like Google, AI will only keeping getting better.

What did you think of this list? Are there any other videos or AI applications you know of that the community should see? Let us know in the comments section below!

Editor at Analytics Vidhya.
Data visualization and Six Sigma practitioner who loves reading and delving deeper into the data science and machine learning arts. Always looking for new ways to improve processes using ML and AI.